


The Blades and the Blind Boy

by wordsaplenty



Series: The Most Brilliant Stars [4]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Blind Keith (Voltron), Episode Tag, Episode: s02e08 The Blade of Marmora, Gen, Gender-Neutral Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Keith (Voltron) Whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-28
Updated: 2017-09-28
Packaged: 2019-01-06 07:59:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,172
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12207075
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wordsaplenty/pseuds/wordsaplenty
Summary: Part of my blind Keith AU.Keith is still trying to prove himself to Shiro, and it seems like the Blades give him the perfect opportunity to show just what he can do.





	The Blades and the Blind Boy

Keith was feeling jittery. They were finally on their way to the Blade of Marmora, meaning he was close to getting answers about his blade. They would be there any minute and what was the team talking about…food.

“Aw! Now I’m hungry for breakfast,” Lance groaned.

Keith tilted his head toward the voices. “Guys, we need to focus,” he said, annoyed that they were fine talking about food when they were so close to, not only getting answers for himself, but to gaining valuable allies in the fight against Zarkon.

“We need to focus” Lance mocked under his breath.

Keith had had enough. When he was fairly certain that Lance had turned his back to him he silently padded over…and smacked Lance on the back of his head.

“Ow!!” Lance yelped. “I should’ve never taught you how to be a space ninja!” Keith could practically hear Lance’s pout.

“The base is in range,” Coran interrupted. 

Keith moved toward where he thought Pidge was. When he was within reach they grabbed his hand and pulled him down so they could begin to narrate what was going on.

“It’s really quite fascinating. There are two black holes that are on either side of a giant blue star. The black holes themselves are incredibly hot, if there were ever a place to hide a super-secret rebel base, it’d be here. The real question is…” Keith was unable to focus on Pidge as other, loud, annoying voices began to talk about food again.

“Now I’m hungry for lunch!” Lance called out.

“Guys, quiet!” Keith yelled out, causing a hush to fall on all the Paladins and Alteans. Since becoming blind the team had worked on not talking over each other and keeping conversations to an appropriate level to allow Keith to follow along, but sometimes they got a bit overexcited and forgot.

“Coran,” Keith turned toward the Altean, “where’s the base located?”

There was a slight pause before Coran replied in a serious tone, “In between those three deadly celestial objects.”

Keith was trying to picture in his head how this could possibly look. To get to the base would be quite the feat.

“…the perfect trap,” Keith caught the end of Allura’s statement. What? No! They needed answers, he needed answers, they couldn’t turn away now! 

“We have to go in! We need answers and help and the Blade of Marmora can give us both!” Keith yelled, clenching his hands into fists. They couldn’t turn back now. No matter what he was going to get answers. Even if it meant taking Red out and doing it on his own.

While Keith was trying to plan how he could get to his lion before the other paladins realized his plan, Shiro had responded to the hail from the Blade of Marmora’s base. Allura was still trying to argue that it was a trap. Thankfully Shiro seemed to be standing firm.

“Lance, you’re coming with me,” Shiro said. Keith’s head snapped up. What? No, this was his mission, it had to be him. Why wouldn’t Shiro choose him? Well, he knew why. Shiro still was anxious about taking Keith out into the field, despite the fact that he had proved himself time and time again. He would just have to keep proving himself to Shiro till it finally sunk in that he could handle himself without Shiro having to worry. 

Pidge grabbed his hand and held it tight. “Shiro maybe you should…” they started to say only to be interrupted by Lance.

“Shiro I’m like, beyond excited that you want me for this mission but we all know it should be Keith. He’s almost as good a pilot as I am and Red is better suited for the heat you’ll experience out there. This should be his mission, not mine.”

Keith turned and smiled toward where he thought Lance was. They’d been getting along a lot better since…well they just got along better now. Which makes sense with the amount of time that they now spent training together. 

Keith realized everything was too quiet. Shiro hadn’t spoken yet and everyone in the room seemed to barely dare to breathe while they waited for his response. 

“You’re right Lance. Keith you up for this?” Keith bristled at the question. Shiro was still trying to give him an out, like Keith would really say no to this.

“Let’s move,” he said, turning to head to his lion.

They made it to the Red Lion quickly. Even though Keith had done this a dozen times now he was always scared that this time would be the time Red decided to keep everything black instead of allowing him to see through her eyes. He felt what he could only describe as a huff of indignation at the back of his mind before the world before him exploded in color. They hadn’t been kidding, this was unlike anything Keith had ever seen.

After a few moments, in which Keith was working on following the course given to them, Shiro cleared his throat. “Keith, is everything okay?”

No, not really but there wasn’t time to think about that. “I don’t know what you want me to say.”

“Look, I’m sorry I didn’t choose you right away. You know I believe you’re capable right? There’s no one else I want to lead this group someday.”

Keith focused on the course in front of him for a moment before responding. “Lead the group?” He couldn’t help it, his voice sounded tiny in his ears. Shiro couldn’t be serious, he barely trusted Keith to leave the castle anymore and here he was saying that he wanted him to lead the group one day.

“When we were stranded, I told you, if anything ever happened to me, I want you to lead Voltron.”

“But,” Keith stumbled over his words for a second, “that was…before,” he gestured toward his eyes.

Shiro placed his hands on Keith’s shoulders, leaning in close. “I meant it then and I mean it now. You’ve more than proved yourself capable of piloting and fighting. If you can focus and keep your head on straight then I think you’ll make a great leader… just in case,” he added, as if he could hear Keith’s thoughts.

“Sorry,” Keith sighed, “I’ve just got a lot on my mind right now.” Plus it's hard to focus when you feel like your every move is being watched. Shiro said he thought he was capable and still wanted him to be the leader, but Keith still felt that Shiro wasn't completely telling the truth. Shiro definitely had reservations when it came to Keith's abilities.

Alarms started to sound all around them, red flashed across his vision. “We’re getting drawn in by one of the black holes!” Keith shouted, anxiety skyrocketing as he tried desperately to move Red back on the correct path. Blocking out everything else Keith focused on Red. After a few tense moments Keith managed to get them back on the correct course.

“Wow! Keith that was amazing,” Shiro complemented.

Keith smiled and turned his head to look up at Shiro, but all he saw was the view from Red. His smile faltered for a moment before he turned back and focused on getting them to the Blade of Marmora. He'd accepted what had happened to him but that didn't mean he didn't wish to be able to see the looks on his teammates faces ever once in awhile.

They made it to the surface of the asteroid and to Keith’s dismay there didn’t seem to be anything. No buildings, certainly no base, and no people. 

They stepped off of Red, Keith walking close to Shiro, letting him lead the way since this place was new to Keith and he didn’t have time to map it out in his mind.

“There really doesn’t seem to be anything here. This doesn’t make sense,” Shiro said, stopping.

Suddenly the ground began to rumble. Keith grabbed for Shiro’s arm. What was happening? Earthquake? on an asteroid? 

Shiro leaned over, “It’s like the ground is opening up. Three of the Blades are on some kind of platform or elevator that’s rising up to meet us.”

Looks like they were in the right place after all.

***

They were brought into what felt like a large room, everything seemed to echo in here and there seemed to be a lot of people but Keith couldn’t tell how many. Before they had started the mission Keith had asked Shiro to not narrate for him in front of the Blades, though he wasn’t necessary self-conscious about being blind, he didn’t want to broadcast it to everyone if he didn’t have to.

They were brought before their leader, a Galra named Kolivan, who did not seem pleased by their presence.

“Ulaz was a fool to divulge this location to you,” Kolivan stated. Keith’s blood began to boil. He didn’t know Ulaz personally like Shiro did, but it was thanks to Ulaz that Keith had been able to meet up with Shiro again. He sacrificed his life so that Shiro could escape, and Keith would forever be grateful for that. 

“You were told to come unarmed,” Kolivan continued. 

Keith wasn’t sure if it was paranoia but he could swear he felt all eyes on him, like they all knew he had brought his knife with him. But there was no way they could know. He had been able to slip it past Shiro so surely he had been able to do the same with the Galra. Right?

Wait, he felt Red tugging at the back of his mind. They must have been talking about Red!

“You also told us to identify ourselves. The lions are about as close as we come to an ID.”

Keith felt like he had dodged a bullet there but he needed to be careful. He needed to get answers about the knife without letting anyone know he had brought it. As much as he wanted answers he didn’t want to put the mission of gaining an ally against Zarkon at risk. 

“I wasn’t referring to your beast,” Kolivan sneered.

Before Keith could fully process what Kolivan had said he felt hands harshly grab his arms. Keith instantly started to struggle but to no avail, he couldn’t escape. Keith couldn’t even be sure of how many Blades surrounded him. One of the Blades reached to his back and pulled out his knife that he thought he had carefully hidden away.

“He has one of our blades! Who did you steal this from?”

“I didn’t! I’ve had it all my life!” Keith yelled. This was not how he had thought this meeting would go. The Blades continued to hold him tight, not allowing Keith to move an inch. He was having a hard time distinguishing where people were in the room. Was he still facing their leader Kolivan? Was he still next to Shiro? Everything echoed in a way that made it hard for Keith to distinguish where everyone was.

Kolivan was asking Shiro if he knew about the blade. Crap. Keith had never shown it to Shiro. Keith had worn it strapped to the back of his belt before but he had never unwrapped the blade in front of Shiro. 

“I…I don’t know,” Shiro replied. Dammit! Why couldn’t Shiro have just said yes? Why hadn’t Keith shared this with Shiro? Keith knew why, because it had to do with the Galra. Even if the Blade of Marmora were Galra rebels they were still Galra. The same people who had tortured Shiro. Keith had thought it was best to keep the knife a secret but now he was starting to rethink that.

“Shiro, you know me. I didn’t steal it. I’ve had this knife as long as I can remember.” Please believe me Shiro!

The Galra were not convinced.

“I saw Ulaz had a knife like this,” Keith continued, “I just want to know what it means!” Keith’s arms were beginning to go numb were the Blade members were clutching them. Shiro was trying to smooth things over and was talking of leaving. No! They couldn’t leave until Keith knew for sure what the knife meant. Why would he have the same knife that the Blade of Marmora carry?

“Somehow, one of your knives ended up with me on planet Earth. Tell me how!” Keith demanded, attempting to pull out of the grip of those holding him captive.

“There is only one way to attain knowledge here. The trials of Marmora. Should you survive, you may keep the blade and its secrets will be revealed.”

The hands holding Keith released him. He stumbled forward before regaining his balance. Shiro was saying something to his left but he ignored him. He had come here for answers about why he would have one of their blades and he wasn’t going to leave until he had gotten those answers.

“These trials result in one of two things. Knowledge or death.”

***

Shiro stopped Keith before he could enter the doors to start the trials.

“Keith you don’t need to do this. You shouldn’t do this. Let’s just leave now. Obviously they don’t want to be our allies,” Shiro stated.

“I’ve needed answers ever since I realized that Ulaz’s blade was the same as mine. This has to mean something. I need to see this through.”

Keith heard Shiro sigh. 

“Keith, you know I believe in you but, you are about to enter what I can only assume is a battle against Blade members who have been training their whole lives. I don’t…”

“No,” Keith interrupted. He didn’t need to hear Shiro share his doubts about Keith’s ability to fight. “I’ve been training non-stop my whole life too.”

Shiro placed his hand on Keith’s shoulder. “It’s not the same though Keith.”

Keith was livid. He heard the unspoken ‘since you went blind’. He stepped back, slapping Shiro’s hand away. “I’m more ready than I’ve ever been, Lance has seen to that. Just because you no longer believe in my combat abilities doesn’t mean that I can’t do this!” Without waiting for a reply Keith walked toward where he hoped the doors to the trials were. Thankfully he had gone in the correct direction and soon he head the swoosh of the doors closing, blocking out Shiro’s calls.

Ever since Keith had lost his sight Shiro had been there for him, in all things but hand to hand combat. Lance was the one to take that on. Though it had been months Shiro was still hesitant to spar with Keith. Keith would show him, he could do this, he would do this!

Inside the room Keith took a moment to center himself. He focused on listening, trying to figure out what was in the room. It was another big room that seemed to echo each of his steps. He couldn’t be sure but he didn’t think there was anyone else in there with him, yet. He clutched his knife tighter. He could do this, Shiro might not think he’s capable but he could do this.

There was a swoosh noise, similar to the door but it sounded like it was coming from the ground. The ground rumbled slightly, reminding Keith of the elevator that had appeared through the ground when they first arrived. Something similar must be happening. He heard someone else in the room, the click of the armor as they moved slightly, the hiss of their breath, muted as if behind a mask or helmet. 

He’d show Shiro, he’d show all of them. He ran forward, blade at the ready and struck out when he was sure he was near his opponent. The Blade was quick, dodging the attack and moving in to deliver one of their own. Keith dodged and felt how the blade sliced the air near him. This time he followed up his blade attack with a punch and a kick. He struck his target his the punch but the kick was deflected. He lost his balance and felt something cut deep into his shoulder. He staggered, clutching his shoulder and panting, barely able to take in any oxygen. 

The Blade spoke for the first time, “Surrender the blade and the pain will cease.”

No, Keith wasn’t giving up till he had the answers he wanted. “I won’t quit.”

“Then the pain continues. You are not meant to go through that door.”

Keith assumed he meant the door behind the Blade member and not the door he’d entered from. Slowly at first then picking up to a jog Keith went through the door.

The room had to be about the same size as the one he’d just left. This time when he felt the ground tremble and heard the slide of the floor opening up two fighters appeared instead of one. Gritting his teeth Keith got ready to go again. He struck out first, moving so he could reach both fighters, attempting to hit each with a kick, a slice, or a punch. They fought and fought. Keith made no ground on the two combatants.

“Surrender the blade and the pain will cease.”

“Never!”

“You are not meant to go through that door.”

***

Keith had lost count of how many times he had gone through the door. His entire body ached. He’d been struck by their blades multiple times now, the evidence clear from the copper smell in the air and the way the fabric of the suit they’d given him stuck to his body. 

As much as he wanted, needed to continue fighting Keith knew he couldn’t continue like this. He wouldn’t survive at this rate. He needed a new strategy, a new plan. The fighters kept repeating the same line over and over again, ‘You are not meant to go through that door.’

Was there another door that Keith just wasn’t aware of? He hadn’t felt along the walls, as far as he knew the only entrances into the room were the door through which he’d come and the door through which he’d leave. Wait. There was another entrance to the room. The entrance that the Blades were using. 

With a plan in mind Keith decided to go through one more round before enacting. He needed to prepare for what he was about to do. He needed to listen and gauge how far the openings in the ground were to him. He’d most likely only have one shot and he needed to make it count.

This time, before the doors even closed Keith was moving. He counted his steps, trying to figure out how far away the openings were to him. After doing this Keith had to endure another grueling round of attack and defense, much more defense at this point.

Finally he was allowed to enter the next room. He listened and had his blade ready. When the Blade members were all in the room, before the openings in the floor began to close, Keith was already on the move. When he got closer he let his blade fly, hoping against hope that he’d hit his target. A clang, followed by a dull thud was all he needed to know that his aim was true. Sprinting to where he’d heard his blade land Keith wasted no time in second guessing. He simply jumped, grabbing his blade on his way down, hearing the thud of the opening closing above him.

***

Keith had no sense of where he was anymore. It could be a room or a hallway or a closet for all he knew. His senses were a mess; his labored breathes making it hard for him to hear and the exhaustion making it difficult for him to focus. He couldn’t do anymore. His knees buckled and he slumped heavily to the ground. The cool surface under him was almost a relief. His whole body felt like it was on fire.

He thought he heard a door opening somewhere but couldn’t get up the energy to care.

“Keith!”

Shiro? Keith felt a hand on his arm. He let Shiro pull him up to his feet, staggering only a little once upright. 

“Guess I wasn’t s’posed to go through that door.”

“Kolivan told me you lasted longer than anyone ever has in those battles. You don’t have to keep this up.”

What? Why would Shiro say that? He’d worked so hard and come so far, how could he give up now? “What are you saying?”

“Just give them the knife and let’s get outta here.”

Keith took a step back. Why was Shiro saying this? “I can’t do that. I’ve come so far Shiro, you can’t ask me to turn back now. After all I've done, I can't just have all of this be for nothing.”

“What is with you?” Shiro suddenly snapped, sounding angry. “You really think you’re going to prove something here by continuing to let yourself get beat up. Cause you’re not proving anything to me except that you don’t know when to leave things be.”

“It’s not just about proving myself. I know I don’t need to prove myself. Everyone accepts that I’m just as capable as I was before, except for you! So maybe I did this to show you what I can do but I also need to do this because this is the only link I’ve got to my past.”

“Well you need to understand that you're not as capable as before! You’re lucky you're still a Paladin of Voltron. We’re all the family you need.”

“And as my family you should understand why I need to do this!” Keith yelled. Why was Shiro being so difficult? After all he’d accomplished here, how could Shiro really still not see that he was capable and that he could continue this as long as needed.

“Just give it up Keith, your being selfish. You think you can do all these things but you can’t. You need to give up on this delusion you’ve created for yourself.”

So there it was. Shiro really didn’t believe in him and nothing he did would change that. “I’ve made my choice,” Keith managed to grit out.

“Then you’ve chosen to be alone.”

He could felt Shiro leave his side. This couldn’t be the end. Shiro couldn’t be serious. “Shiro! Wait!” He didn’t want to be alone. Shiro couldn’t leave him like this! But he just didn’t have the energy. The ground felt unsteady beneath his feet and soon his face meet with the cold floor once more.

***

Keith woke up feeling someone grabbing his arm. “Keith, are you okay?” Shiro helped him get his feet under him. Once he was steady Keith latched onto Shiro. On the one hand he really wanted to punch Shiro right now for all the things he said. On the other, he couldn’t lose Shiro. 

Shiro pulled him close, wrapping his arms around Keith tightly. “You did amazing,” he heard Shiro whisper. 

“But…” Keith started only to be interrupted.

“They played tricks on you Keith, that wasn’t me. What you did here today, what you managed to do all on your own. Don't ever feel like you need to prove yourself again. You've proven yourself 10 times over. I couldn't have done what you just did. Keith I’m in awe.”

Keith tilted his head, wishing that he could see the look on Shiro’s face but hearing the pride in Shiro’s voice soothed some of the anxiety from earlier.

“Stop what you’re doing!” Kolivan’s voice seemed to come out of nowhere.

“What do you mean?” Keith asked, still a bit foggy about what was going on.

“Call off your beast!”

It was then Keith realized that the whole base was trembling. He could feel Red, she was angry and she was trying to get to him. 

“We’re leaving, Shiro growled, stepping away from Keith but keeping a comforting hand on his arm.

“Not with the blade. You failed to awaken it!”

“What does that mean?” Keith asked. He was done with this, he was done with the Blades. Everything was a riddle. If they weren’t going to give him answers then there was no reason for him to stay. But the Blade didn’t seem like they were about to let them leave.

“Just take it,” Keith said. “Our focus needs to be on Zarkon. And to defeat him we need to work together. My past and my need to prove myself don’t matter in the face of that. Take it.”

Keith tried to hand the blade over but it suddenly grew hot in his hand. He stood still as the blade seemed to grow heavier in his hand. 

“Shiro, what…” Keith wasn’t sure what had happened. He needed Shiro to confirm what he thought had just happened had actually happened.

“The blade just, grew, right in your hands Keith. I honestly don’t understand what just happened.”

“You’ve awoken the blade! This is only possible if Galra blood runs through your veins.”

Oh god no.

**Author's Note:**

> First episode tag so please let me know what you think! I'm thinking about doing season 3 in this AU or just skipping ahead and doing my own ideas for season 4. Or just playing with the idea of Blind Keith hanging out with the Blades cause that seems super cute in my mind... idk. Comment if you like!


End file.
